Need Help Foil Motor Needs Adjusting maybe?? Problems with Foils

[Lew Hands]

Hey guys,

hopefully you can help me!

So my problem first started when I tried using a 90m foil from Print1. It would print about 50mm and then stop and would say 'check foil'. I tried everything I could think of, but couldn't stop it doing it. In the end I reverted back to 45m foils and never had a problem, so I put it down to the extra weight of the 90m foil.

Now, I'm trying to print a genuine Gerber Arctic white but I'm getting the same issue. The Arctic white foil definitely feels heavier than most other colours, so again Im assuming the issue is down to the weight of the foil. Is there a way to adjust the foil motor to fix this problem? It seems the edge thinks there is a problem as it takes more force to unwind the heavier foil, thus alarming out. Can I turn this warning off just to prove the issue?

Thanks in advance,

Lew

 

[Jburns]

which model edge?
In the setup menu, you may be able to turn off the foil sensor. but beware if there is a problem in the future with a foil the machine may unravel it.

 

[Lew Hands]

which model edge?
In the setup menu, you may be able to turn off the foil sensor. but beware if there is a problem in the future with a foil the machine may unravel it.

Thanks for the reply.
Its an Edge 2.
Yes this is what I was thinking, but I didn't want to play about too much incase I messed anything up. I was thinking of turning it off until I'm a few metres in and I think the problem wouldn't happen then!

Lew

 

[Jburns]

yes that is what I would try - turn off the sensor and monititor it while running.

 

[FunkotronXL]

Any luck with turning the sensor off?

Ran into a similar issue a while back. You can usually tell if the foil motor is going out by listening to it using the slew button with no foil inserted. If the motor makes a noticeable cadence, the internal gears may be wearing out. If the motor has a smooth even sound, the issue could be related to a quite a few different possibilities. Helps if you have two printers that you can compare the sounds to each other.

Eventually we ended up replacing the foil motor. Leading up to that we were able to relieve some of the tension through a couple methods.

1. Clean the dancer bar with 99% IPA, it may look clean but it can gather buildup over time. Be gentle, the pivot point on the bar comes loose easily.

Try step 2 if you are in a bind and can't wait to fix the root issue.
2. Apply a strip of flexible removable vinyl (Instachange or Imagecal R White works well) and wrap it over the dancer where the foil contacts it. DANGER!!: If the vinyl comes loose it will make a mess and can get sucked into the takeup roll of the foil. This is not a permanent solution, do not leave the machine unattended.

 

[Lew Hands]

Any luck with turning the sensor off?

Ran into a similar issue a while back. You can usually tell if the foil motor is going out by listening to it using the slew button with no foil inserted. If the motor makes a noticeable cadence, the internal gears may be wearing out. If the motor has a smooth even sound, the issue could be related to a quite a few different possibilities. Helps if you have two printers that you can compare the sounds to each other.

Eventually we ended up replacing the foil motor. Leading up to that we were able to relieve some of the tension through a couple methods.

1. Clean the dancer bar with 99% IPA, it may look clean but it can gather buildup over time. Be gentle, the pivot point on the bar comes loose easily.

Try step 2 if you are in a bind and can't wait to fix the root issue.
2. Apply a strip of flexible removable vinyl (Instachange or Imagecal R White works well) and wrap it over the dancer where the foil contacts it. DANGER!!: If the vinyl comes loose it will make a mess and can get sucked into the takeup roll of the foil. This is not a permanent solution, do not leave the machine unattended.

Sorry for the delayed response, I don't get on here very often!

I turned the foil sensor off and it worked a treat! I turned it back on after about 10m and its now working fine!